Tuesday, January 15, 2008

New Bike Tech: Lo-Fi vs. Hi-Fi

In the world of bicycles, some innovations trickle down from the pros and from the big bike companies, and others bubble up from independent fabricators. Sometimes these innovations are so good that they become widely adopted and eventually become standards. Other times they fail to catch on. Here are two, one from above and one from below, that I feel meet somewhere in the middle and make mud:

BB30 Threadless Bottom Bracket

I don’t know about you, but every time I blow out my birthday candles, put a penny in a fountain, or wind up on the business end of a wishbone, I wish fervently for a new bottom bracket standard. Thankfully, FSA was listening, because here comes the BB30. And not only does it require a dedicated crank, but it also requires a dedicated frame. That means I get to go shopping! The BB30 is based around Cannondale’s 30mm spindle diameter, which they’ve been using awhile and have “made available to the industry for free.” This is less an act of generosity than it is the kind of “If I get everyone else to do it too, I won’t feel so dumb” mentality that makes you buy your friends that fifth round of drinks at 11:30 on a weeknight. Of course, every dumb idea needs an excuse, and the one behind the BB30 is reduced Q-factor, as though up until now straddling a bike was too much like going to the gynecologist. "The biggest concern is from rider physique, related to the crankarm curvature," [Matt Van Enkevort, FSA general manager] said. "Heel hit was a complaint, from CSC riders especially.” Van Enkevort went on to not disclose the fact that FSA don’t like the way their cranks look in pictures with heel rub marks on them, nor to admit that various sponsorship obligations prevent CSC riders from trying more simple things like wearing different shoes or dialing the excessive slop (or “float” if you consider slop a feature) out of their Speedplay pedals. Yes, heel rub is a great reason to redesign both the bottom bracket and the frame, and if the past is any indication, the BB30 system will be a resounding success. Just look at Klein and Merlin, both of whom once offered proprietary press-fit bottom brackets, and both of whom were subsequently subsumed by larger companies.

Wooden Handlebars

Some time ago a reader alerted me to the fact that someone is making and selling wooden handlebars. While my request for an interview with the maker went unanswered, I’ve since seen them here and there on sites like Fixedgeargallery and Velospace, so presumably they’re out there. And while there are safer ways to achieve that flammable look on your bicycle, these bars give you two things a roll of wood-grain contact paper cannot—susceptibility to termites, and that thrilling feeling that your bars might splinter at any moment. Together with a brakeless bike, wooden bars will transport you to that next level of sublime uncertainty, and simply arriving at your destination with all your teeth will feel like a Tour de France stage win. I’m not sure what sort of special care these bars require, but I’m guessing that you treat them like Mogwai: avoid bright light; never get them wet; and never, ever ride them after midnight. I’m also not sure if they come with a warranty, but maybe the builder will make you a nice set of wooden dentures in the event of a catastrophic failure. And if you still want to buy them, I'd suggest getting two, as the second set might be helpful in defending against beavers.

I'll have to admit - I had an FSA crank at one point and it did indeed have heel marks on it. I thought it was my poor technique and foolishly spent time on the trainer to correct it. Now I can blame the design and spend money on a new crank. Huzzah!

I notice the new crank comes in a triple (insert reference to geriatric Cannondale riders here).

I saw the wood bars, and my first thought was, hey i'm a carpenter I can make my...aw fuck, that'd suck to have wood bars.And that BB-30 idea is complete Roadie weenie shite!A solution looking for a problem...

yes, klein and merlin did have press-fit bottom brackets, but they borrowed the idea from the renowned french constructeur, Alex Singer. and they did so because with the proper labyrinth seals (some of the kleins and merlins did not have these, and wound up being a huge PITA as a result) and good bearings, they can last for decades without even an overhaul.

not that FSA is doing it for longevity or anything, since their stock in trade is planned obsolescence. and given that these bbs will probably go on carbon fiber bikes which will shatter in their first crash, theres really no reason for it other than that.

I think Cannondale should go all the way with this concept and press-fit anything that moves on a bike. Press-fit the wheels to the fork, the pedals to the cranks etc. Press fit grip shifters to a wooden bars maybe?

mm, they may look nice, but how effective are fenders that don't extend AT ALL from the brake bridge (or as they seem to think of it, the place where your brakes used to be) to the chainstay bridge. You might keep your ass dry, but you'll still be flinging water all over your legs + feet, frame, drive train, etc. Form over function when it comes to fenders seems a little odd to me.

Yo yo keep it lo, fi dat how I fly, by da by, ya heard bout Cog he done drop a new blog, now back ta da show, just let ya know B to da B to da 3 Oh! Aint da way ta go, no no, Oh! Like from Xiu by TwoDon’t work for some, but for some it do,What it do? well let I tell U, take your money an run.End Done.

Those renovo bikes are priceless! I can see the marketing campaignnow. "Why buy a carbon fiber bike that has the ride quality of dead wood, when you can buy a bike made of .... dead wood?"

Regarding Cannondale's attempts at innovation: Maybe I'm dating myself here, but does no one else remember their attempt back in the early 90's to build an entire bike that could be completely disassembled with one allen key? If I remember correctly it was some controversial Japanese designer that came up with the idea. I believe there was a large write-up about it in "Bicycling". (Yes, I am admitting to past sins)

Bike snob OMG thanks you now my bamboo bike with BB30 bottom bracket will be almost complete with those wooden handle bars, as soon as I get hemp fiber and resin rims from Michael Ball (to be released with an eco friendly clothing line by, Rock & Republic) all of these elitist prius driving hippies will be able to kiss my smell splintered ass!

And just think if the opportunities for polyurethane stains, carving, and paint!

Yes, and Liquigas - a team known for its fanatical crafters as well as its classics racers - can't wait to get hold of the team issue version. After they customize their bikes by burning their names in with a Woolworth's Woodburning Kit, they are going to get together in Girono for a team crafting camp and knit wool wheel warmers, and some nifty plaid top tube pads. Hey, don't knock it - just like Woolistic jerseys, wooly top tube pads will keep your top tube nice and warm even when it gets wet out.

BTW, on that wood bike, you know it must be really, really frickin' good. I know this because there's simply no way a bike company would sell an overpriced, overhyped, underperforming piece of crap to the riding public...

i can't wait 'til those wooden bars appear in philly. i am _so_ gonna get drunk and cruise dive bars for bikes locked out front that have 'em, and set 'em on fire.

maybe, if i feel bad afterwards, i'll throw on some replacements from my junk pile, and a brake or two to boot. imagine the looks on the drunken hipsters' faces when they see the charred remains of their former (overpriced and failure-prone) bars, next to their bikes with new, unhip brakes covertly installed.

Wow, the one day I don't read exactly at release time and my comment will be relegated to 48th.

I am the proud owner of one a pair of "Fast Boy" wooden handlebars.http://velospace.org/node/6661

Funny that I receive nothing but compliments anywhere I go, and I'm not talking "Fixed Gear Freestylers" either. They have a really comfortable shape - DO accommodate a brake lever - and look hot. I certainly wouldn't put them on my road bike, but they're perfect for my fixie. Granted, the bike isn't everyone's style, but I like it and it makes getting around a lot more fun than a bland hybrid or something comparable.

Also - I ride them in the rain, leave them in the sun, and climb out of the saddle. Yea, they'll probably not last forever, but catastrophic failure is not something I'm at all worried about with these.

I'm pretty sure you'd have to be pretty determined to set them on fire, too. Jerk.

Properly applied, wood is not nearly as poor a structural material as most of the posters here seem to think. The idea that metals, any metal, is fundamentally superior to wood is a sort of modern prejudice. On the other hand, Jim's suggestion for shower drain pedals is inspired. Why not go one step further and mount the pedals to the cranks without bearings. Think of the zen connectedness you could feel without those silly bearings getting in the way...

Not trying to be insulting, but do you have any actual basis for claiming that metal is a categorically better material?

Something that hasn't been said explicitly, but which is relevant, is that the bars are NOT a steam bent dowel. Instead, they are 9 (IIRC) plies laminated together. One reason this is important is that a break in one ply (say, on the outside radius of one of the bends) will not propagate to the others. Maybe they won't last forever, but I believe they are pretty impervious to the type of catastrophic twig-like failure that some people seem to assume is possible here. In fact, I would be MORE worried about sudden failure in metal bars because an invisibly small stress crack could quickly propagate around the circumference of a tube.

'cause i'm willing to bet my cromo bars, while probably an ounce or 2 heavier than wooden ones, aren't gonna snap under me at >25mph, like some cheap aluminum bullhorns i had once.

but mostly i just wanna light peoples' handlebars on fire 'cause it'd be funny. it's not like those in the target market for these things ride their bikes further than the nearest dive bar anyway. hell, i got a friend who lights his chopper on fire and then rides it at least once a year, just for laffs.

ggehrke asks: Oh, and does this mean I qualify for an official BSNYC Seal of Disapproval?

Absolutely - I put stuck mine on a piece of cardboard and use it a spoke card.

FWIW, I'd be more concerned about catastrophic failure in carbon bars than wooden ones.

The experience of switching from wood to carbon hockey sticks is instructive. By every measure carbon is lighter and stronger, but players can't feel any difference as the material gets stressed or cracked under heavy use. The result is that they often break with no warning at the most critical times. Whereas with a wooden stick you start to hear and feel the cracks forming and can switch to a new one.

Obviously wood is strong, since people have been living under it, walking over it, and crossing oceans on it for ages. However, I do find it interesting that even the wooden bike appears to use aluminum handlebars.

FSA is in the business of making new parts. Not better, just new, not tested, just new. They never develop anything from year to year, and they are responsible for most of the recalls that Cannondale has had to deal with (which is a lot).

Stiffness and Q factor, the mantra of the crank maker. Every year, unlike North Americans, they get stiffer and narrower. But selling a crank based on lower Q is like selling a 54cm frame and saying it's better than a 56cm frame.

But Snobby, you're wrong on the Speedplays, the float is adjustable, and most ride with zero float.

"38% stiffer" now puts cycling parts in the marketing realm of shampoo commercials. My crank is also 23.6% more radiant. Of course, they don't tell you that 38% stiffer is relative to Ron Jeremy's member after 20 min. forced viewing of naked Hilary Clinton pics.

As for the wood bars, kids today..in my day, we couldn't afford wood and our bars were made of steel rebar and concrete, later, we used linoleum bars with great success. That Christmas, we got a bag of peanuts..with salt. Good times.

ggherke: it looked like a steam bent dowel when i looked at the thumbnail. plywood is much stronger, but how much of the added strength comes from the adhesives? also, to what extent does one need to maintain a finish to prevent failure of the adhesives from exposure? what about the issue of longevity? clearly there are metal bars out there which will fail, but a strong, well made bar can last a lifetime. i doubt you can say the same with your wooden bar, plywood or not. it seems to boil down to novelty and aesthetics, not strength, so i guess all this is ultimately irrelevant, especially since it seems catastrophic failure of a plywood bar would require forces capable of destroying any bar.

A wood handle bar or bicycle rim can be made very strong indeed. It's just way more expensive to make strong parts out of wood compared to the same thing in metal. Just look at old sailing ships. Some of the exotic tropical hardwoods are extrememly dense and have a very hard surface. It's all ecconomics. Unrelated to the wood issue I did see a guy at 07 interbike who had a "tallbike kit" he was shopping around for a manufacturer. So I expect tall bikes for the masses won't be too far away. I like the Tall bike gangs; it's like the 1890's LAW riders have come back from the dead to form a zombie hoard that will destroy the earth!

Sure it can, but like my BSNYC Seal of Disapproval spoke cards or a hipster's gawdy top tube pad, the choice of wood is purely a fashion statement. You'd never make bike components out of wood because of the qualities of the materials.

I think it did. metal working had existed for centuries but ships were still being made out of wood because before the industrial revolution the large scale manufacturing of metal hull plates and decking would have been too costly. Those old wood sail ships were the some most expensive things being built at the time. If cheap steel would have been available the ship builders would have used it. Construction material choices always come down to the "light, cheap, strong, you get to pick 2" axiom.

that's quite a stretch, but in the sense that economics are tied to all levels of manufacture, you are right; however, i still think it would be more accurate to say the technology simply wasn't there. metal working had, in fact, been around for thousands of years and has been used on boats for almost as long. the technology to make metal plating, however, didn't exist until maybe the 17th century, and then only for covering wooden planks for armoring.

you can control and supply the world with boats, even to this day, and metal hulled boats can be shaped to go much faster and carry more than wooden ones. all the economic incentive in the world would have driven governments and shippers to make metal hulls, regardless of cost long ago if they'd been able, but they weren't.

masts, i suspect are another story. wood is a great material for a mast, even to this day, as far as i know. though i doubt it's used all that much.

Anonymous said... A wood handle bar or bicycle rim can be made very strong indeed

I agree, here at CommieCanukTech, we are working on wood bars with a reinforcement of aluminum wrap, then to save weight, we use lasers and magnets to burn out the inner wood to yield a strong and lightweight bar. Patent pending.

Fuel is the adrenaline of any car, truck or engine. Thus, it is every vehicle owner's wish to enhance the fuel of their car and save more of it as well. With this in mind, the most innovative fuel-saving tool in the automotive industry was conceptualized and created: the Tornado Fuel saver. An automotive air channeling tool that creates a swirling air motion, the Tornado Fuel Saver allows the air to move in a faster and more efficient way by whirling air around corners and bends. Hence, more fuel is saved.

About Me

While I love cycling and embrace it in all its forms, I'm also extremely critical. So I present to you my venting for your amusement and betterment. No offense meant to the critiqued. Always keep riding!